Gone
by SkyGem
Summary: While out training with his father before the finals of the Nationals tournament, Ryoma falls off a cliff, never to be seen again. How will his family and friends react when they find out? Please review.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: While out training with his father before the finals of the Nationals tournament, Ryoma falls off a cliff, never to be seen again. What will happen when his family finds out? And what about his sempai-tachi and classmates? Read on to find out!

OrchardLily: Hey guys! For some reason, I felt like writing a sad story. Please read and tell me if you like it, and if you do, I might just continue it. ^_^ Well, on to the story!

P.S. The vote for the story Twin Samurai is closed and the results are on my profile. I've got to say, I'm pretty disappointed with the number of votes I got, but, it can't be helped. You can expect the next chapter to be up soon.........I hope. Well, once again, on to the story!

Disclaimer: You guys have all heard me say it before, but, I do not own PoT!

**Nanjirou**

"RYOMA!"

It all happened so fast, by the time I had realized what had happened, it was already over. One second, he was running to return the ball, the next, the cliff broke underneath him and he was going over. By the time I got to the edge and looked over, there was no trace of Ryoma. All I saw was a bunch of sharp rocks poking out of the river beneath, some with droplets of blood on them. I sat back, unable to comprehend the loss of my son. I sat there for minutes on end, and then, it all came crashing down and I felt tears streaming down my face. I got up and went down as close as possible to the river into which he had fallen. I searched and searched and when I finally came to terms that he was gone, it was well into the night. I went back to camp and called the police, then went to sleep. When I woke up, for a moment, I completely forgot what had happened the day before and went to wake Ryoma up. When I saw his empty sleeping bag, it all came rushing back and I once again felt the tears against my face. About an hour later, a rescue crew arrived and took me to the nearest town. There, they asked me many questions, and then, they sent out a search party to look for Ryoma. Even though I knew there was little chance that he was alive, I still felt a glimmer of hope. A glimmer of hope that was violently crushed the next day, when they returned with his hat. They had found it someway downriver from where he had fallen, caught on a rock. Seeing it, my grief intensified tenfold. It was then that I finally realized what I had refused to believe, that my little chibisuke would never be coming back. That I would never again play against his rapidly increasing tennis skills, that I would never be able to tease him again, and that I would never be able to see him surpass me, as I had hoped for him to since the day he was born. The stream of tears that had run non-stop since he had fallen now became an ocean. As the people around me tried to calm me down, I tried to think how I would break this news to Nanako, Rinko, and especially Ryoga. Though the two had been feuding these past two years, I knew that Ryoga would be the most upset of the four of us. He had loved his little brother fiercely and it would be a cruel blow to him to know that it was too late and that he would never be able to clear things up between them.

**Rinko**

When Nanjirou arrived one day early, I knew right away that there was something wrong. Nanjirou was not the kind of man that would rush his training, never mind Ryoma's, because, no matter how much he teased Ryoma, Nanjirou was, in fact, really proud of his son. So, you can imagine how shocked I was to see Nanjirou arrive without Ryoma.

I walked up to him, worried. "Where's Ryoma?" I asked.

At this, his face became tortured, and I knew right away that something had happened to Ryoma. "W-where is he? I-is he hurt?"

He looked at me, then shook his head and said, "Ryoma is not in any pain."

When I heard this, I was relieved at first, then I noticed the double meaning behind his words. Realization dawned, and I began to shake. "N-no! It-it's not true! My baby can't be dead!" I shouted, tears falling down my face.

"It's true, he fell down a cliff and into a river. They sent out a search-and-rescue party to look for him, but only found his hat, his body has not been found."

_No, no! My baby! He can't be dead!_ I thought, but, deep down, I knew it was true. I started shaking again, unable to bear the grief. He was so young! Why did he have to die?

At that moment, Nanako came over. When she saw my face, she looked worried, then noticed that Ryoma wasn't here. "Did something happen to Ryoma-kun?"

**Nanako**

"Did something happen to Ryoma-kun?" I asked as I walked over to my aunt and uncle.

Uncle looked at me and said, "Ryoma, he's.......he's no longer with us."

When I heard this, my blood ran cold. "I-I'm sorry, but I don't think I heard correctly, w-what did you say?" I asked.

Again, uncle said, "Ryoma's no longer with us."

My mind was unable to comprehend what he had just said. Although we were only cousins, and I had only been living with him for one year, Ryoma had become like a brother to me, and hearing that he was dead shocked me to the core of my being. I let my tears overflow and cried out my grief over his death. I would miss him. Already, I could feel the absence of his presence, it made me feel lonely. A life without Ryoma seemed unbearably sad, but, what I feared most was how Ryoga would take the loss of his brother. The two had been unnaturally close and he was sure to be greatly affected by it.

**Ryoga**

"See you later!" I called to my friends as I entered my apartment building. Almost as soon as I arrived inside, my cell started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and saw with surprise that it was my parents. _I wonder why they're calling so late?_

"Hey, what's up?" I said when I picked up my phone.

_"Ryoga...."_ said my dad from the other side.

"What's up oyaji?" I asked, worried. His voice sounded upset and I could hear crying in the background. "Is that okaa-san crying? Did something happen to her?"

_"No, Ryoga, your mom is fine, physically, at least."_

"What do you mean by physically? Is there something wrong with her emotionally? Psychologically?"

_"She is grieving for you brother....."_

"Grieving? What do you mean?" I asked, desperately trying not to think of what he might be implying.

_"Ryoga.........your brother is dead,"_ he said, with a sense of finality.

I froze. "Dead?" I asked, my voice dangerously close to squeaking. "NO! He can't be dead!" I shouted. "You're lying!"

_"I'm not lying, Ryoga. He fell off a cliff, they haven't found his body yet."_

Even though I wanted to believe otherwise, I knew that it was true. I hung up, throwing my phone at my bed. I desperately wanted to start shouting and screaming, but I couldn't find my voice as I was suddenly choked with tears. All I could think was, _Ryoma's dead_. For the rest of the night, I sat on my bed, trying not to think of what my life would be like without Ryoma. I was unable to sleep, and, before I knew it, it was noon and there was someone banging on my door.

I went to answer it and saw my friends, looking worried. "What do you want?" I asked in a hoarse voice(from crying all night).

They took one look at me and their worry seemed to triple. "What happened? Why weren't you picking up your phone?" asked Mike, my best friend.

I looked at them, feeling hollow. "Ryoma's dead."

When I said this, they all, with the exception of Mike, looked confused. Mike, whom I had known since I was three, obviously knew Ryoma. "What? You're kidding, right?" he said, looking shocked. Mike knew Ryoma very well and had been almost as protective of him as I had been.

"Who's Ryoma?" asked Amy, my girlfriend. We had only met about three months ago, and she had never even heard of Ryoma.

"Ryoma was Ryoga's younger brother," said Mike, looking almost as if he were about to cry.

"Younger brother?" asked Matt, another of my friends.

"That's right, he lived in Japan with their parents."

Everyone looked at me again. "He fell off a cliff, they haven't found his body yet....." I explained to them.

At this, Mike really did start to cry. My friends seemed really alarmed at this, as if they weren't alarmed enough already. Mike and I were known as the strong ones in our group of friends and it really shook them up because they had never before seen us cry. They tried to console us, but it didn't work, nothing could make me feel better. My little brother was gone, and nothing could bring him back.

**Momo**

It was the day Ryoma was supposed to come back and I was at morning practise. I swear, you could just feel the excitement in the air. Even though he had only been gone for about a month, he was still the baby of our team and everyone had missed him greatly. I was having a practise match with Taka when Oishi suddenly came over saying that Ryuuzaki-sensei wanted to see all the regulars. We all followed him to the club room.

When we got there, we saw Ryuuzaki-sensei sitting behind a desk with an upset look on her face.

"Sit down, all of you," she said, and we all sat down.

She looked at us seriously for a moment then said, "You all know that Ryoma went with his father for training and that he was supposed to come back today."

When she said this, we all became confused. Finally, Oishi said, "What do you mean by 'supposed,' sensei?"

Ryuuzaki-sensei took a deep breath, then said, "Four days ago, while training with his father, Ryoma fell off a cliff overlooking a river..." she trailed off.

When we heard this, we all froze. "B-but, h-he'll be okay, r-right?" asked Taka.

Ryuuzaki-sensei looked up and said in a grief-stricken voice, "There were rocks at the bottom, some with blood on them....." she trailed off, unable to continue, but we all knew what she meant, Ryoma was dead.

"I-it can't be true........R-Ryoma can't be dead!" I shouted. "It's not true!"

No one even bothered try and calm me down, they were all absorbed with their grief for the loss of our pillar.

Eiji was crying loudly on Oishi's shoulder while Oishi had his arms around the redhead, tears streaming down his face. Fuji's eyes were still closed, but his signature smile seemed to have disappeared forever, tears instead taking their place on his cheeks. Taka was standing stock still, seeming to have withdrawn into himself, in an attempt to escape the pain of losing his most favoured kouhai, while his eyes had turned to faucets. Inui, for once, had stopped writing in his journal and was trying to comprehend the now permanent absence of one of the few he had come to respect. Meanwhile, Kaido was hiding his face in his hands, in the past months, even he had developed feelings for the young boy and was taking his loss hard. And even Tezuka, our buchou who never seemed to show any emotions, had tears in his eyes.

"Damn it!" I shouted, about to leave.

"Wait, Momoshiro," said Tezuka, whose voice, though a bit shaky, even now still held it's authority. I turned to look at him, about to demand why he had stopped me, when I saw that the tears that had been forming before had already overflowed onto his face. "Come with me," he said. "We need to let the rest of the team know, then there's something we have to do." I was about to refuse, then thought against it. The rest of the team and I followed him out.

While we were in the club room, more people had arrived, which meant that now the majority of the team was here, and was now staring at us with shocked looks on their faces.

"Everyone, gather around!" called Tezuka as the rest of us took our places behind him. Looking confused, everyone did as they were told.

"I regret to inform you that, four days ago, the freshman regular of the Seigaku tennis team, Echizen Ryoma, passed away. And due to this unfortunate incident, club activities will be cancelled for a week, except for the regulars, who will continue training in order to defeat Rikkaidai in the finals of the Nationals. That is all," said Tezuka, as he bowed and started to walk away with the rest of us following, still mourning our lost team-mate.  
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OrchardLily: So, what do you think? Please comment/review and tell me what you thought and whether I should leave it as a one-shot or continue it and make it into a two-shot or three-shot.


	2. Chapter 2

OrchardLily: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter and I hope you enjoy this continuation! Please read and review!  
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**At Seigaku, 3rd Person P.O.V.**

That morning, and every morning for the following week, the flag at Seishun Gakuen was only raised half mast* in honour of Echizen Ryoma. By the end of the day, the news was already all over the school that the tennis team's super rookie was gone, and, being the popular brat he was, every one of the girls at school, and quite a few of the guys, were upset. It was not an unusual sight to see someone crying, particularily a freshman. The tennis team regulars, who had once been so happy and energetic, had become withdrawn and would barely talk to anyone outside of their circle. For the whole week, they trained harder than they had ever before, in preparation for their final match against Rikadai.

_Flashback_

_"But WHY? Whats the point of winning the nationals if he's not with us?" shouted Momo._

_"Because," replied Tezuka. "If we didn't, then we would be dishonouring Ryoma. Don't you get it? If we hadn't been in the finals, Ryoma wouldn't have gone training and wouldn't have died! We HAVE to win! For Ryoma!"_

_Suddenly, Momo understood what his sempai was saying. He nodded and said, "For Ryoma!"_

_And the rest of the team followed suit, "FOR RYOMA!!!!"_

_End Flashback_

**Nationals Tournament Finals  
**Tezuka

"With 3 wins and 2 losses, Seishun Gakuen of Tokyo wins the finals!"

As I heard the referee make the announcement, the first thought to run through my mind was, _We did it, Ryoma!_

I heard the crowd erupt into cheers, but felt no corresponding feeling of excitement as I finally reached my long dream of conquering the finals, for, what was the point if my team was incomplete. As I went up with my team to collect the trophy, the crowd fell silent in anticipation of a speech.

Without any need for encouragement, I spoke for my team, as I knew they wanted me to. "I will be speaking on behalf of my team. We, the Seigaku team, would all like to thank our fans, for cheering us on; our family and friends, for supporting us; but most of all, we'd like to thank Echizen Ryoma, the rookie of our team. Though he was not able to be with us for our final match, he was our main motivation, and it was for him that we won this championship, may he rest in peace," I finished, and, with everyone else, left the now completely silent arena.

On the way to the lounge, everything was quiet, but, once we got there, we were pelted with questions from all members of Rikkai. It was incredibly tiring, but, eventually, they ran out of questions and eventually left, most of them sniffling, trying to hold back tears.

**Rinko**

"Yes?" I asked as I opened the door to see eight young men standing there.

"Hello, ma'am. We are the Seigaku tennis team that your son was a paart of."

"Oh? I-is there something you need?" I asked.

"Well, you see, today, our team won the nationals, and well, we would like it if you could put the trophy in Ryoma's room?"

"In Ryoma's room? Why?"

"Because," said one young man with a spiky updo, "we won that because of Ryoma, so it's only right for it to be with the rest of his stuff."

I looked at them all for a moment, tears welling up in my eyes, and said, "Thank you. Thank you for what you just said, but mostly, thank you for being such good friends to my son while he was at your school. He would always talk about his wonderful sempais and I'm so happy to see that he wasn't exagerating."

The young man in front, whom I assumed to be the buchou that Ryoma had respected so much, bowed, said thank you and goodbye, and left, after giving me the trophy. As soon as I closed the door, I went up and put it in my son's room, which had remained untouched since that day.

**Ryoga**

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" asked Matt for the hundredth time.

"We'll be fine!" I said, as Mike and I got ready to board the plane to Japan, for Ryoma's memorial. We couldn't have a proper funeral because the body had not been found, and so, mother and father decided to have a memorial, and of course, Mike and I were definately going.

"You do know that we're grown men, and we're older than you?" added Mike. And, with that we turned and left. The plane ride was long and, in my opinion, left too much time for my mind to wander. When we finally got there, I was almost in bad a state as I had been two weeks ago, when I had first gotten the news. Nanako came to pick us up at the airport, and, before I knew it, we were home and, both me and Mike, were being hugged by my crying parents. As I mentioned before, I had known Mike for a really long time and my parents treated him the same way they treated me and Ryoma, he was practically part of the family.

The next day was the memorial, and so I woke up early and got dressed. All day, people were coming and going, giving their condolences to m grief-stricken family. There were many junior high and high schoolers, and also many teachers and neighbors. Ryoma, it seemed, had been well-known and well-loved, even among the the elders.

At one point, there were a group of eight junior high schoolers who seemed to have been Roma's sempai's from the tennis club. I went over to talk to them and thank them for coming today.

The first of them to speak was a redhead who said, "Who are you?"

"Eiji!" rebuked the one I assumed to be the captain.

"Oh, it's no problem, lot's of people have asked me that today," I said, attempting a laugh.

They all looked at me curiously. "I'm Echizen Ryoga, Ryoma's aniki." I told them.

They all looked so shocked, I almost felt the urge to laugh. "Nya, ochibi-chan never told us he had an aniki!"

_Ochibi-chan? They must have been pretty close, I thought I was the only person allowed to call him chibi,_ I thought.

**Meanwhile...**thousands of miles away, a young boy, completely oblivious to the pain and suffering he was unintentionally causing his loved ones, awoke for the first time in two weeks to find that, in addition to not knowing **where** he was, he also no idea **who **he was.  
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* Not sure if this is what they do in Japan, but here in Canada, whenever a student at a school dies, the flag, which they normally put up full mast, is put up only half mast (half way up) for a certain amount of time.

OrchardLily: Well, what did you think? It wasn't as long as the other chapter, but still pretty good, I hope? Please comment/review and tell me what you thought or some things that might make it better. Anyways, after this there will be one more chapter, so stay tuned!


	3. Chapter 3

SkyGem: Hey guys! Thanks once again for the reviews and without any further ado, here's the next chapter!

P.S. Oh, and also, in this chapter, all speech in **bold** is english.  
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**Ryoma, Ny City, U.S.**

I sat up, looking around. "W-where am I?"

**"Oh, so you're finally awake!" **said a voice from behind me. I turned around and saw a lady sitting there, knitting, and beside her was a man, presumably her husband. **"We were so worried when you didn't wake up in the first week, even though the docter said you would be okay."**

Seeing as they were speaking english, I decided to switch too, as they probably wouldn't understand japanese. **"I'm sorry, but, who are you?"**

**"Oh, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself!"** said the old lady. **"My name is Jennifer Robinson, and this is my husband, Minoru Enoki."**

**"Enoki? Isn't that a japanese name?" **I asked.

"That's right, young Ryoma-san, I'm japanese."

"Ryoma? Is that who I am?" I asked, confused.

The man looked at me, "You don't remember who you are?"

I shook my head, "I don't remember anything at all."

He looked thoughtful, "Tell me, who was the first president of the United States?"

"Washington George," I replied.

Again the old man looked thoughtful. "It seems," he said, "that, you have amnesia. You have forgotten most, if not all, of your memories of your life in general but not any of your education."

"Oh? Then how am I supposed to get them back?"

"Well, there is no sure-fire way to get them back, you have to wait for them to come back on their own. Until then, would you like to live with us?"

"Live with you? A-are you sure?" I asked.

"Of course, we are not the kind of people that would leave a child out in the open with no way to fend for himself, especially not one with amnesia!"

I felt overcome with gratitude at this. "Thank you so much!"

**"I'm really sorry to disturb you, but, would you mind telling me what I'm missing?" **As her husband explained to her what was going on, her face grew understanding and she said, **"Oh, you poor thing! Feel free to stay with us as long as you want!"**

**"Thank you, ma'am,"** I said.

**"No problem! And by the way, you can just call us uncle and auntie, okay?"**

**"Okay, a-auntie."**

**About Two Years Later......**

It was the beginning of summer and school had just finished. **"I'm home!"** I called.

**"Welcome back, Ryoma," **said auntie, coming in to hug me. **"How was school?"**

**"It was fine, just the usual."**

**"I see, you must be happy, now that school is over."**

**"Of course! Anyways, I'm going to sleep!"**

**"Okay, sleep tight."**

I went upstairs to my bedroom. I had pulled off an all-nighter last night to study for my science exams and I was extremely sleepy. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

_I looked around confused. _Where am I?_ I thought. _

_"Nya, ochibi-chan!" called a voice. I turned around and saw a redhead and a guy with a spiky military cut glomping a young boy wearing a white cap, shorts, and a blue and white jacket. "You won! Congratulations!"_

_"Have you ever known me to lose?" asked the young boy in a voice that sent shivers up my spine. Why did he sound so familiar? Suddenly, he looked up, and with a shock, I recognized him, he was me!_

_Suddenly, the scene changed and I was standing in front of a temple. I heard a commotion and headed towards it. When I got there, I saw myself again, only this time, the redhead and the black haired guy were nowhere to be seen. This time, I was with a young man, about five six years older than me who looked a lot like me. _What's going on? Who are these people?_ I thought._

Suddenly, I was woken up by a loud noise. I went downstairs to the kitchen, where the noise had come from. **"Auntie? Are ou okay? What happened?"**

**"Oh, I'm sorry did I wake you?"** she asked.

**"Yes, but it's okay," **I said. I hesitated, then said, **"Umm, auntie?"** She looked at me and I said, **"Can I ask you something?"**

**"Of course, Ryoma, you can ask me anything."**

**"Well, you see, I just had this dream..." **I explained to her what it had been about.

**"Oh, that's wonderful, honey! You're getting you're memories back!"**

**"Really? Do you-"** I was cut off as the doorbell rang.

**"Just a sec sweetie, let me get the door."** As she went to the door, I heard a voice that seemed vaguely familiar.

**"Oh, Mike dear! It's been so long! Please, come in, and bring your friend with you!"**

_Mike? _I thought as auntie walked in with two young men behind her. One was a blonde with his long hair in a ponytail and glasses hiding a pair of blue, blue eyes. As I looked towards the other young man, I froze. He had black, emerald-tinted, shoulder-length hair, and golden, cat-like eyes, and was the same guy as in my dream. Then, he suddenly turned around and I recognized him. "Onii-chan......."  
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SkyGem: So, how did you like it? Does anyone know what manga Jennifer and Minoru are from? I'll give you a cookie if you get it right! ^_^ If you want to answer, leave a comment/review or PM me. Also, originally, I was planning for this to be the last chapter, but it seemed too much so I decided to split it into two chapters. The next chapter will be updated soon, like really soon, like maybe in two or three hours soon.


	4. Chapter 4

SkyGem: Hey guys! Like I said, two or three hours. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the conclusion of "Gone."  
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**Ryoma**

"Onii-chan..." I said.

When he saw me, the young man's eyes widened. "R-ryoma?"

"Onii-chan!" I called, running up to him with tears in my eyes. In the one moment it took me to recognize him, all my other memories had also come back. Mom, dad, and Nanako, the Seigaku regulars, tennis, Karupin, all of it was back. I hugged him, saying a tear-choked, "Ryoga."

"Ryoma, Ryoma, Ryoma...." he kept repeating while hugging me back.

**Ryoga**

As I held Ryoma in my arms, it all felt so surreal. As if, should I let go of him, I would wake up and find that my finding him had all been a dream, so I held him closer. But, eventually, inevitably, I had to let go. As I reluctantly unwrapped my arms from around him, he looked up at me, smiled, then went to say hi to Mike, who had also started crying. Our little reunion was sweet but short as we were soon interrupted by Jennifer-san.

**"Ryoma? Care to explain?"** she asked, looking a little confused.

He turned to her and said, **"Auntie, I'd like to introduce you to my older brother, Ryoga Echizen, and his best friend, Mike Hedford."**

At first, she looked completely shocked, but then her face lit into a dazzling smile and she said, **"That's wonderful, Ryoma! Then, have you regained all memories?"**

_Memories?_ I thought, confused._ What does she mean by memories?_ As I turned to look at him quizzically and he said, "That's the reason I didn't come back home, when I woke up after the fall, I had amnesia."

_Amnesia? _I felt so terrible that I had not been around to help him in his time of need, so I did the only thing I could do, I wrapped my arms around him again and said to him really quietly, "I'm so sorry....." We stayed like that for a few minutes, then broke apart. The rest of the night was spent celebrating and saying our goodbyes, it had been decided that, tomorrow, Ryoma would be returning with Mike and I to my apartment in Los Angeles and then, we would arrange a flight from there to Japan.

**One Week Later, Ryoma**

I woke from a restful sleep and found myself in an unknown bedroom. I started to get up, but then realized that someone was in the bed with me. I looked down and saw Ryoga, sleeping peacefully, and realized that this must be his apartment. I slowly got up, trying not to wake him. I went to the bathroom and took a shower, dressing in the first thing I found, which turned out to be a pair of jeans which uncle had bought me a month ago. I brushed my hair and put it in a ponytail (it was a little longer than shoulder-length) and went to get some breakfast. As I finished eating, Ryoga came into the room, looking sleepy.

"Hey, chibisuke," he greeted me.

"G'morning," I said. "So, when are we goin' home?" I asked him.

He yawned and said, "Our flight is in three days, so don't bother unpacking." I nodded and went to get him some breakfast as he sat down, still looking half-asleep. I shook my head at the lazy lump I called brother and went to get a scrunchie to tie his hair back so it wouldn't fall into his food. I swear, sometimes it felt like I was the older brother. After we had breakfast, Ryoga and I decided to go site-seeing. Seeing as it had been about 3-4 years since I had last come here, the town had changed a lot. Somewhere around nidday, we 'accidentally' bumped into Mike and the rest of Ryoga's friends and decided to have lunch togehter. All in all, it was a fun day and I was dead tired by the end of it. The next day went pretty much the same and, before I knew it, it had been three days, and Ryoga and I were already on the plane heading home.

**Rinko**

It was somewhere around noon 3 in the afternoon when Ryoga called to tell us that he was in Japan for a visit and that he had a guest with him. When I talked to him, he had sounded incredibly happy, happier than he had been in two years. I tried to think what would make him that happy and could find only one answer, and answer which was completely impossible but which made me hope it was true. As the time passed, I started to get restless. I knew that I shouldn't get my hopes up, since it was completely unplausible, but I couldn't help but all, there had been no evidence, right? And as unlikely as it seemed, it could be that he wasn't dead at all, he could be completely happy and healthy, and coming home right this moment. About thirty minutes after Ryoga had called, I heard a car and ran outside to see who it was. There, getting out of Ryoga's car, was a young boy, 16 years old, with black hair ad golden eyes, and when those eyes were turned upon me, I recognized them.

"Ryoma!" I called and ran up to him, hugging him tightly, unable to believe that it was him. My baby boy had come back!

"M-mom! I-I can't breathe!" he said.

Reluctantly, I let go of him and said, "Oh, honey, I can't believe it! You're back! You're okay!"

"Of course, mom! You think something like a little fall could kill me?" he joked. Suddenly, my vision was blurred by tears, tears of joy, and I smiled and hugged him again.

**Nanjirou**

I was sitting underneath a tree, reading a 'book' wih Karupin, when, suddenly, she jumped off and ran away. Then I heard a commotion in the general direction Karupin was headed, so I decided to follow her. When I finally caught up to her, she was already nuzzling the chin of a young man that had just stepped out of Ryoga's car. He looked up at me, smiled and said, "Hey dad!"

For a moment, I was frozen, then I ran up to him and hugged him, never wanting to let go. "Ryoma! You're back! You're not dead!"

He laughed and said, "Of course not."

After that, we spent the rest of the day catching up and, for the first time in years, my family was complete.

**About Two Weeks Later, First Day of School, Ryoma**

"Everyone, before I start today's lesson, I would like to introduce to you our transfer student, please come in." I heard the teacher say from inside the classroom. I took a deep breath because, impossible as it may seem, even I got nervous, and walked into the classroom. "Everyone, this is Echizen Ryoma, and he's going to be in our class from today onwards." As soon as he said my name, a loud murmuring started up in the classroom. _Oh great, _I thought. _Looks like I won't be getting home in one piece._

"Yo, Ryoma!" shouted a very loud guy sitting near the back whom I recognized to be Horio from my freshman year at Seigaku. "Why the hell didn't you tell us you were alive!"

I sighed and said, "It's a long story, I'll tell you later."

And so went the rest of my classes, and by lunch, pretty much everyone was talking about the return of Echizen Ryoma, the boy who came back from the dead.

**Lunchtime, Cafteria, Momo**

I was sitting at the usual lunch table with the rest of the former Seigaku junior high regulars, who just so happened to be the current Seigaku high regulars, when suddenly the cafeteria became absolutely quiet and everyone stared at the entrance. Confused, I looked too and couldn't believe my eyes. There, standing in the doorway, was a somewhat familiar form. It was a freshman with black/green hair and golden eyes, he was wearing a hat similar to the one in junior high and the exact same smirk on his face. Slowly, with everyone watching, he made his way over to our table. When he was just a few feet away from us, he stopped.

"R-Ryoma?" I asked, trying to unfreeze myself.

"Yo, long time no see, sempai." As if he had said a secret word, my body unfroze and I was able to move again. I ran up and hugged him, tears strolling down my face and Eiji followed suit. As soon as the two of us let go, he was attacked by the rest of the regulars. Taka took him in a bearhug that could rival mine's, Kaido ruffled his hair, telling him how much he was missed, Fujii hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek which was promptly rubbed off, Inui gave a hug too, Oishi hugged him again, saying how happy he was that he was back, while Tezuka gave him a hug and one of those rare smiles that was usually gone before you even had time to register it. As I saw this happy scene, I truly smiled for the first time in years because, with the return of our ochibi-chan, our little family of nine was once again complete and we, the Seigaku regulars, had found ourselves again. We were no longer the broken, unrecognizable, poor excuses for tennis players we had been yesterday, no, we were once again the strong, confident, warriors of tennis that had once been known as Seigaku's dream team. And it was all thanks to our ochibi-chan, he truly was Seigaku's pilllar of strength.

_**The End  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**_

SkyGem: Well, that's it, that's the end of my story "Gone." I really hope you liked it, please review/comment one more time and tell me what you thought of the ending. Also, if you enjoyed this story, please check out some of my other ones. Well, goodbye, and hope to see you again!


	5. Chapter 5

SkyGem: Hey guys! Surprised, huh? You see, since many people, myself included, felt that the last two chapters were a bit rushed, I've decided to write a longer, alternate ending, which will start from chapter three. I will not be taking the other ending down, so that those who liked it will still be able to read it. The beginning of this chapter will be a lot like chapter three, but it will get a bit more detailed as it goes one. This alternate ending will last about three or four chapter. I hope you like it!

P.S. Oh, and also, in this chapter, all speech in **bold** is English.  
_

**Ryoma, NY City, U.S.**

I sat up, looking around. "W-where am I?"

**"Oh, so you're finally awake!" **said a voice from behind me. I turned around and saw a lady sitting there, knitting, and beside her was a man, presumably her husband. **"We were so worried when you didn't wake up in the first week, even though the doctor said you would be okay."**

Seeing as they were speaking English, I decided to switch too, as they probably wouldn't understand Japanese. **"I'm sorry, but, who are you?"**

**"Oh, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself!"** said the old lady. **"My name is Jennifer Robinson, and this is my husband, Minoru Enoki."**

**"Enoki? Isn't that a Japanese name?" **I asked.

"That's right, young Ryoma-san, I'm Japanese."

"Ryoma? Is that who I am?" I asked, confused.

The man looked at me, "You don't remember who you are?"

I shook my head, "I don't remember anything at all."

He looked thoughtful, "Tell me, who was the first president of the United States?"

"Washington George," I replied.

Again the old man looked thoughtful. "It seems," he said, "that, you have amnesia. You have forgotten most, if not all, of your memories of your life in general but not any of your education."

"Oh? Then how am I supposed to get them back?"

"Well, there is no sure-fire way to get them back, you have to wait for them to come back on their own. Until then, would you like to live with us?"

"Live with you? A-are you sure?" I asked.

"Of course, we are not the kind of people that would leave a child out in the open with no way to fend for himself, especially not one with amnesia!"

I felt overcome with gratitude at this. "Thank you so much!"

**"I'm really sorry to disturb you, but, would you mind telling me what I'm missing?" **As her husband explained to her what was going on, her face grew understanding and she said, **"Oh, you poor thing! Feel free to stay with us as long as you want!"**

**"Thank you, ma'am,"** I said.

**"No problem! And by the way, you can just call us uncle and auntie, okay?"**

**"Okay, a-auntie."**

**About Two Years Later...**

It was the beginning of summer and school had just finished. **"I'm home!"** I called.

**"Welcome back, Ryoma," **said auntie, coming in to hug me. **"How was school?"**

**"It was fine, just the usual."**

**"I see, you must be happy, now that school is over."**

**"Of course! Anyways, I'm going to sleep!"**

**"Okay, sleep tight."**

I went upstairs to my bedroom. I had pulled off an all-nighter last night to study for my science exams and I was extremely sleepy. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

_I looked around confused. _Where am I?_ I thought. _

_"Nya, ochibi-chan!" called a voice. I turned around and saw a redhead and a guy with a spiky military cut glomping a young boy wearing a white cap, shorts, and a blue and white jacket. "You won! Congratulations!"_

_"Have you ever known me to lose?" asked the young boy in a voice that sent shivers up my spine. Why did he sound so familiar?_

_Suddenly, the scene changed and I was standing in front of a temple. I heard a commotion and headed towards it. When I got there, I saw the young boy again, only this time, the redhead and the black haired guy were nowhere to be seen. This time, he was with a young man, about five to six years older, who looked a lot like me. _What's going on? Who are these people?_ I thought._

Suddenly, I was woken up by a loud noise. I went downstairs to the kitchen, where the noise had come from. **"Auntie? Are you okay? What happened?"**

**"Oh, I'm sorry did I wake you?"** she asked.

**"Yes, but it's okay," **I said,throwing myself down onto a chair.

Looking at me sympathetically, she said **"Another dream?"**

I nodded. **"I've been having them for a year now, but I have no idea what they mean! Who is that boy who looks like me? And who are those people?"**

**"Well, maybe you're having these dreams for a reason. Have you ever thought that that little boy might be you?"**

**"Me?"** I asked, confused.

"**That's right, you did say that he looked a lot like you. Maybe those dreams aren't dreams, but memories trying to find their way out."**

"**But-"** I started to say, but was cut off by the ringing of the doorbell.

**"Just a sec sweetie, let me get the door."** As she went to the door, I heard a voice that seemed vaguely familiar.

**"Oh, Mike dear! It's been so long! Please, come in, and bring your friend with you!"**

_Mike? _I thought as auntie walked in with two young men behind her. One was a blonde with his long hair in a ponytail and glasses hiding a pair of blue, blue eyes. As I looked towards the other young man, I froze. He had black, emerald-tinted, shoulder-length hair, and golden, cat-like eyes, and was the same guy as in my dreams. Then, he suddenly turned around and I recognized him. "Onii-chan..."  
_

SkyGem: So, how did you like it? Like I said, this chapter is a lot like chapter three, but a few details are different. I hope you like it, and please review. I'll try and get the next chapter out soon.


	6. Chapter 6

SkyGem: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it!

**Ryoma**

"Onii-chan..." I said.

When he saw me, the young man's eyes widened. "R-Ryoma?"

"Onii-chan!" I called, running up to him with tears in my eyes. In the one moment it took me to recognize him, all my other memories came flooding back. Mom, dad, and Nanako, the Seigaku regulars, tennis, Karupin, all of it was back. I hugged him, saying a tear-choked, "Ryoga."

"Ryoma, Ryoma, Ryoma..." he kept repeating while hugging me back.

**Ryoga**

As I held Ryoma in my arms, it all felt so surreal. As if, should I let go of him, I would wake up and find that my finding him had all been a dream, so I held him closer. But, eventually, inevitably, I had to let go. As I reluctantly unwrapped my arms from around him, he looked up at me and smiled.

Unwrapping his arms from around me, he went over to Mike. **"Mike! Good to see you, man!"**

Tears slipping down his face, Mike said in an unbelieving voice, **"Ryoma…Is it really you?"**

Looking a bit impatient, Ryoma said, **"Of course it is! Now are you gonna hug me or not? 'Cause my arms are getting tired here!"**

Laughing, Mike said, **"Same old Ryoma,"** then gave Ryoma the hug he was looking for.

Our little reunion was sweet but short as we were soon interrupted by Jennifer-san.

**"Ryoma? Do you know these two?"** she asked, looking a little confused.

He turned to her and said, **"Auntie, I'd like to introduce you to my older brother, Ryoga Echizen, and his best friend, Mike Hedford."**

At first, she looked completely shocked, but then her face lit into a dazzling smile and she said, **"That's wonderful, Ryoma! Then, you've been cured of your amnesia?"**

_Amnesia?_ I thought, shocked."You had amnesia?" I asked Ryoma.

Nodding, he said, "That's the reason I didn't come back home after the fall, I had amnesia."

I felt so terrible that I had not been around to help him in his time of need, so I did the only thing I could do, I wrapped my arms around him again and said to him really quietly, "I'm so sorry..." We stayed like that for a few minutes, then broke apart.

The rest of the night was spent celebrating, and saying our goodbyes, it had been decided that, tomorrow, Ryoma would be returning with Mike and I to my apartment in Los Angeles and then, we would arrange a flight from there to Japan.

**Ryoma**

"Goodbye, Auntie, uncle. I'll miss you two," I said

Tears in her eyes, Jennifer turned to me and said, "We'll miss you too, Ryoma. You better not forget to keep in touch. And you must come visit us once in a while, you got that?"

Nodding, I went up and hugged the two of them. "Bye," I said once again, then turned to walk back to my brothers car.

Looking at me in the rearview mirror, Ryoga flashed a grin, then said, "Ready to go, chibisuke?"

Glaring playfully at him, I said, "Stop calling me that! It's only been one day and I'm already annoyed with it!"

Ignoring the laughing Mike, Ryoga made a sulky face, then turned his eyes to the road, and we were off.

**One Week Later**

I woke from a restful sleep and found myself in an unknown bedroom. I started to get up, but then realized that someone was in the bed with me. Looking down, I saw Ryoga, sleeping peacefully, and realized that this must be his apartment. I slowly got up, trying not to wake him, went to the bathroom and took a shower, dressing in the first thing I found, which turned out to be a pair of jeans which uncle had bought me a month ago. I brushed my hair and put it in a ponytail (it was a little longer than shoulder-length) and went to get some breakfast. As I finished eating, Ryoga came into the room, looking sleepy.

"Hey, chibisuke," he greeted me.

"G'morning," I said. "So, when are we goin' home?" I asked him.

He yawned and said, "Our flight is in three days, so don't bother unpacking." I nodded and went to get him some breakfast as he sat down, still looking half-asleep. Shaking my head at the lazy lump I called brother, I went to get a scrunchie to tie his hair back so it wouldn't fall into his food. I swear, sometimes it felt like I was the older brother. After we had breakfast, Ryoga and I decided to go site-seeing.

Somewhere around midday, I was starting to get hungry, so Ryoga and I decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants for lunch. Just when we were about to start eating, the door opened, and in came an annoying group of teenagers. Turning our way, one looked surprised, then happy, then shouted **"They're here!"**

Coming over, one of the guys, the one I didn't recognize, said, **"Yo, Ryoga!"**

"**Hey, Matt!"** said my brother, looking happy. Turning to me, he said**, "Ryoma, this is my friend Matt."**

Looking at him, I saw that he was pretty good looking, with dark brown hair, and green eyes. He was the muscular one of their group. **"Nice to meet you,"** I said.

"**So you're Ryoma,"** said one of the girls, she had short red hair cut in a bob. "**I can see why Ryoga and Mike were so upset. You're just so adorable!"** At this, my face heated into a blush, this was one of those times when I really wished I still had my fila cap.

"**Isn't he?"** asked another girl, a brunette, and I blushed harder.

Laughing, Ryoga said, **"Stop it, guys, you're embarrassing him!"** Then, he turned to me and said, **"The redhead is Janie, and the brunette is Maya."**

Looking at them, I smiled and said, **"Nice to meet you, ladies."** Giggling, the two girls started talking among themselves.

"**And this,"** said my brother, gesturing towards a very pretty girl with jet black hair, **"Is Amy, my girlfriend."**

_Girlfriend?_ I thought, then smirked. "Wow, she's quite pretty, I'm surprised someone like her would be interested in someone like you," I said in Japanese.

"Hey!" Ryoga exclaimed Ryoga indignantly. "What do you mean by 'some one like me'?"

I retorted with another similar remark, and soon, we were in another full blown argument, just like the old days. After we left the restaurant, we wandered around, just hanging out with Ryoga's friends. All in all, it was a fun day and I was dead tired by the end of it. The next day went pretty much the same and, before I knew it, it had been three days, and Ryoga and I were already on the plane heading home.  
_

SkyGem: So that's chapter 6! Did you like it? Please review, and the next chapter might be out soon.


	7. Chapter 7

SkyGem: Well, here's chapter &! I hope you like it!

**Rinko**

It was somewhere around 3 in the afternoon when Ryoga called to tell us that he was in Japan for a visit and that he had a guest with him. When I talked to him, he had sounded incredibly happy, happier than he had been in two years. I tried to think what would make him that happy and could find only one answer, an answer which was completely impossible but which made me hope it was true. As the time passed, I started to get restless. I knew that I shouldn't get my hopes up, since it was completely implausible, but I couldn't help it, after all, there had been no evidence, right? And as unlikely as it seemed, it could be that he wasn't dead at all, he could be completely happy and healthy, and coming home right this moment. About thirty minutes after Ryoga had called, I heard a car and ran outside to see who it was. There, getting out of Ryoga's car, was a young boy, 16 years old, with black hair ad golden eyes, and when those eyes were turned upon me, I recognized them.

"Ryoma!" I called and ran up to him, hugging him tightly, unable to believe that it was him. My baby boy had come back!

"M-mom! I-I can't breathe!" he said.

Reluctantly, I let go of him and said, "Oh, honey, I can't believe it! You're back! You're okay! What happened to you? Why did it take so long for you to come back?"

"I'm fine, okaa-san! Really! And I'll answer all your questions later, okay? Right now, I'm dead tired," he answered. Suddenly, my vision was blurred by tears, tears of joy, and I smiled and hugged him again.

**Nanjirou**

I was sitting underneath a tree, reading a 'book' with Karupin, when, suddenly, she jumped off and ran away. Then I heard a commotion in the general direction Karupin was headed, so I decided to follow her. When I finally caught up to her, she was already nuzzling the chin of a young man that had just stepped out of Ryoga's car. He looked up at me, smiled and said, "Yo, otou-san!"

I had no idea what to make of what was right in front of me, and said the first thing to come to mind. "Ghost!"

Silence followed my statement, then, Ryoma, with an annoyed look on his face, said, "You see me for the first time in two whole years, and the first thing you say is ghost? You really are a baka, oyaji."

Irritation boiled up inside me, and I shouted back, "What did you say, you ungrateful ghost child?" I shouted back to him, locking his head in my arms.

"I said, you're a baka! And I'm not a ghost, so stop calling me that!" I shouted.

For a moment, I froze, then let go of him, only to hug him seconds later, and say in a delayed reaction, "Ryoma! You're back!"

Making an irritated noise, he said, "Yes, I'm back, now let go of me!"

I let go of him, and our argument continued, and, though it might have seemed to an outsider like a normal day at the Echizen household, as if Ryoma hadn't been missing for two years and had just returned, we could all feel the difference Ryoma's presence made. We spent the rest of the day catching up and, for the first time in years, my family was complete.

**About Two Weeks Later, First Day of School, Ryoma**

"Everyone, before I start today's lesson, I have a very important announcement to make," I heard the teacher say from inside the classroom. I took a deep breath because, impossible as it may seem, even I got nervous, and walked into the classroom. As soon as I walked in, there was dead silence. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce to you, Echizen Ryoma-san." As soon as he said my name, a loud murmuring started up in the classroom. _Oh great, _I thought. _Looks like I won't be getting home in one piece._

"But he can't be Ryoma!" shouted a very loud guy sitting near the back whom I recognized to be Horio from my freshman year at Seigaku. "Ryoma died two years ago!"

Trying not to get too irritated, I said, "Oh? Then if I'm not Echizen Ryoma, then who am I?"

"That's easy!" shouted Horio, looking proud with himself. "You're an imposter."

"Why the hell would anyone want to impersonate me? Idiot. I'm just a normal high school kid," I said, getting really irritated.

First, he looked a bit taken aback, then said, "Yup, you're definitely Echizen."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, baka!"

And so went the rest of my classes, and by lunch, pretty much everyone was talking about the return of Echizen Ryoma, the boy who came back from the dead.

**After school, Tennis courts, Momo**

I had been playing a game with Kaido when suddenly, I realized that everyone had stopped playing. Turning to look at where they were staring, I saw a freshman disappear into the clubroom. Minutes later, the coach came out with a freshman wearing a familiar white fila cap.

Once everyone had gathered, the regulars at the front, the coach began talking. "Everyone, I've got some wonderful news!" Then he turned to the freshman, and said, "Young man?"

Stepping forward, the young boy looked up, and took off his hat. There were many gasps throughout the courts, as many of the Seigaku junior high tennis team were here, but I didn't notice any of that. My eyes were riveted on the familiar face of the young boy standing in front of me. It was a freshman with black/green hair and golden eyes he was wearing exact same smirk on his face from junior high.

"R-Ryoma?" I asked, trying to unfreeze myself.

"Yo, long time no see, sempai."

As if he had said a secret word, my body unfroze and I was able to move again. I ran up and hugged him, tears strolling down my face and Eiji followed suit. As soon as the two of us let go, he was attacked by the rest of the regulars. Taka took him in a bearhug that could rival mine, Kaido ruffled his hair, telling him how much he was missed, Fujii hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek which was promptly rubbed off, Inui gave a hug too, Oishi hugged him again, saying how happy he was that he was back, while Tezuka gave him a hug and one of those rare smiles that was usually gone before you even had time to register it. As I saw this happy scene, I truly smiled for the first time in years because, with the return of our ochibi-chan, our little family of nine was once again complete and we, the Seigaku regulars, had found ourselves again. We were no longer the broken, unrecognizable, poor excuses for tennis players we had been yesterday, no, we were once again the strong, confident, warriors of tennis that had once been known as Seigaku's dream team. And it was all thanks to our ochibi-chan, he truly was Seigaku's pillar of strength.

_**The End  
_**_

SkyGem: Well, that's it, that's the ending of the alternate ending of my story "Gone." I really hope you liked it, please review/comment one more time and tell me what you thought of the ending. Also, if you enjoyed this story, please check out some of my other ones. Well, goodbye, and hope to see you again!


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